Jake Locker pushing Matt Hasselbeck for Titans starting quarterback job

Jake Locker has "closed the gap" on Matt Hasselbeck in the Titans' starting quarterback battle. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak said Saturday that second-year pro Jake Locker has "closed the gap" on Matt Hasselbeck for the starting quarterback role, The Tennesseean's Jim Wyatt reported.

Munchak also said after the Titans lost their preseason opener to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday that Locker might start the team's next preseason game at Tampa Bay on Friday.

“I don’t know if there was a big gap,” Munchak said of the two quarterbacks. “Obviously Jake doesn’t have the experience Matt has, so I think that gap you can never really close if you are a young quarterback. But I think overall, as the season progressed last year, we thought that Jake was coming on real strong. … So yeah, he has closed the gap and they are obviously both doing well. We are happy with both of them and at some point we’ll make a decision.”

Hasselbeck started on Saturday and completed only five of his nine pass attempts and throwing two interceptions. Locker went 7-of-13 for 80 yards. He drove the team down on a 79-yard touchdown drive just before halftime.